Holiday sale: Henry Schein snags Georgia tech firm

The world’s largest distributor of animal-health products, among other thriving interspecies healthcare verticals, has acquired a new cloud-based weapon for its business-development arsenal.

Melville-based Henry Schein announced Monday the acquisition of Atlanta-based eVetPractice, a 2011 startup focused on cloud-based practice-management solutions for veterinary clinics. eVetPractice becomes the newest addition to the expanding software portfolio offered by the Henry Schein Veterinary Solutions division, which has offices in Wisconsin, Missouri and Pennsylvania and is billed by the Melville mothership as “the global leader in veterinary technology solutions.”

Financial terms of the takeover were not disclosed. But as cloud-based options for veterinary practice-management software proliferate, bringing the Georgia tech firm into the fold “enhances our ability to power successful practices by providing our customers with the latest in value-added services and technology solutions,” according to Henry Schein Chairman and CEO Stanley Bergman.

“Our distribution footprint and comprehensive technology offerings, which now include the cloud, ensure that veterinary professionals can continue to rely on us as a trusted advisor, as we endeavor to help them operate more efficient and successful practices while delivering quality care,” Bergman said Monday.

Although the acquisition is projected to have no immediate effect on Henry Schein’s earnings, adding one of the nation’s fastest-growing veterinary-practice cloud solutions – eVetPractice currently boasts 900 customers – to existing technology solutions including AVImark software and the RoboVet practice-management suite bodes well long-term for Henry Schein Veterinary Solutions, according to Chris Dollar, global president of the HSVS division.

“The highly regarded eVetPractice solution will complement these offerings for our current and prospective customers who prefer the benefits of a cloud solution,” Dollar noted.

eVetPractice was founded by Eddie Heinz, who will join the HSVS executive team and continue to lead the eVetPractice solution and customer-support teams.

“Henry Schein’s excellent reputation and extensive reach among veterinarians bodes well for our continued success,” Heinz said in a statement. “We are excited to become a part of this team.”